Oakwood at Merritt River Norwalk

... for First Forty.

We made the decision to head into the town of Port Washington NY. Port Washington is a bedroom community of NY and its a great place. We had been there before, but this time we wanted to see more and do more. This year's cruise ...."run less...see more".

With the speed we made, by 12:30 we had picked up a mooring and shut the engine down. It was a great morning.

... I had the radio on. Never mind). Anyway, I went to the library yesterday to see if they had any guide books on any of the cruise destinations. Rick Steves' Scandinavia book was on the shelve, so I got it out. (Plus a Diane Krall standards CD). I've noticed on some of the Tripadvisor forum that a lot of folks don't like Rick. He is who he is: honest and a little bit goofy. Some of ...

... None but are accepted-none but are dear to me. 3 You air that serves me with breath to speak! You objects that call from diffusion my meanings, and give them shape! 25 You light that wraps me and all things in delicate equable showers! You paths worn in the irregular hollows by the roadsides! I think you are latent with unseen existences-you are so dear to me. You flagg'd walks of the ...

... boat. It made us think how the absense of the twin towers would be so 'in your face' every day if you worked here. Then we turned to starboard and entered the East River. Traffic somehow vanished. We began to relax and to enjoy this amazing cruise through one of the world's great cities. This was an amazing kick. Soon, we were gliding past Hells Gate with a 2 kt lift. We had timed it perfectly and no traffic at all. We went by the United Nations ...

... am. The Statue of Liberty makes you really feel like your in the States and she's a lot higher than I thought, Brooklyn Bridge is a sight to behold too. Central Park is absolutely huge and I spent days just walking around, sun bathing and chilling in there - it's awesome and has something for everyone. I went to a few of the many museums, but the Guggenheim was shut for an unknown reason. The UN is quite impressive too.Wall street ...

It was a wicked trip to start with. Had my dose of Vitamin D, and a bit brown from one day in the sun, unlike London. Now jetlagged, hungry and stranded at JFK. Highlights: Seeing Dora and Poppy and first taste of good tacos. Lows: I had five crocodile bags caught in customs, how on earth am I going to explain this to the officer on the way back.

... Needless to say, I headed for the photos... I mean, how could they have done an open casket??? That was so NOT Erica... I figured there were people in the other room that I should probably have said hello to, but I wasn't willing to risk accidentally seeing a made-up artistic creation of Erica lying in state, so I stayed put. After an hour or so, I was chatting with Marco (who used to work for Ed until about a month ago when he quit to go get his M.A. in acting ...

... overall as I got to hang with the tour team and meet some fantastic people. Including...Mr. and Mrs Bagger. Yup...THE Mr. and Mrs. Bagger. When a friend talks so highly of his parents for years, they rise to a celebrity status. Ok, so I may be a dork, but they were beautiful people and I felt honored to have met them. Tune back tomorrow for more exciting adventures of....CMART!! (insert dunt da da da ah music here)

... the sport routine AJ has me on, its rigorous and includes multiple daily sessions of basketball, soccer and baseball plus general running around. Apparently AJ has noticed his older cousins flab and taken it upon himself to help out. No seriously so cute he actually asks where I am because he likes playing sport with me! Go to Cliffs for a sleep over have a play with his 4 beautiful rugrats and have a lovely dinner with him and Laurel. (did i mention he lives in a mansion like ...

... the hall a bit. But we were so glad to be there, finally. We cranked up the air conditioning, and both collapsed and slept for about an hour and a half. I left Walt coming back to life after his nap and I walked up here. When I leave here we will grab a bite to eat and then head over to the theatre to see "Reckless." On the whole, not a bad first day in New York. And no disasters yet. Be still my heart.